


do you want to be a hero, tommy?

by shr000m



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Eret is not a traitor in this apparently, Gen, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Traitor Eret (Video Blogging RPF), nevermind it changed there, so nothing changes there, tommy is literally traumatised
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:07:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28271388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shr000m/pseuds/shr000m
Summary: “Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, you just had a nightmare, it’s okay.”Tommy’s gaze slid by him and fixed on Eret and Wilbur.“Why are you here?” he whispered.And suddenly he wasn’t up and stumbling, and Tubbo grabbed hold of his hands to steady him.“Why are you here?!” he screamed, his world hazy.He ripped his hands away and stumbled across the room, grabbing the collar of Wilbur’s shirt.“You’re fucking dead!” he yelled, and Wilbur looked so confused and hurt, and he felt hands pulling him away.“You’re dead, Wilbur!” he screamed, and then he let himself succumb to the darkness.
Comments: 23
Kudos: 513





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoy :)  
> -clay <333

“If you want to be a hero, Tommy?!” Technoblade screamed. The wither skull in his hands was going to be placed. Tommy surged forwards, every ounce in his body intent on ripping the skull away. 

“Then die like one!”

***

“Tommy!” he heard, and suddenly Wilbur was there, Wilbur was there, Wilbur was there and Tommy was trying to fight him, and they were screaming, and then he fell back and he was vulnerable and they were going to hurt him.

His eyes darted around, taking in the room, and then he burrowed further into the corner of the room like an animal, hands up like a shield in front of his face.

Tubbo knelt down in front of him and Tommy felt himself leaning away, but his hands coming down.  
And Tubbo’s mouth was moving, but his words were muffled and then he was saying Tommy’s name.  
“Tommy. Tommy, Tommy, you just had a nightmare, it’s okay.”   
Tommy’s gaze slid by him and fixed on Eret and Wilbur.  
“Why are you here?” he whispered.   
And then suddenly he was up and stumbling, and Tubbo grabbed hold of his hands to steady him.  
“Why are you here?!” he screamed, his world hazy. 

He ripped his hands away and stumbled across the room, grabbing the collar of Wilbur’s shirt. “You’re fucking dead!” he yelled, and Wilbur looked so confused and hurt, and he felt hands pulling him away.   
“You’re dead, Wilbur!” he screamed, and then he let himself succumb to the darkness.

*

Tommy was screaming. Tommy was screaming in his sleep, and Wilbur was pacing.  
“He’s probably fine, Wilbur.” Tubbo reassured him.  
Wilbur pulled at his hair.  
“Tubbo, I’m his brother.” Wilbur ranted. “I know him better than anyone. Tommy doesn’t scream when he has nightmares. He hasn’t, ever. This is something different, I’m telling you.”  
“It’s probably not.” said Tubbo.   
Wilbur stopped pacing and lightly pushed Tubbo aside in order to get to his younger brother.  
Tommy was flailing around, and when he’d been lightly touched on the forehead before, to see if he was warm - he wasn’t - he’d fell from the bed, stumbled and ended up huddled in the corner, eyes still closed.  
Wilbur gently took hold of his wrists to still them, but Tommy’s screams only grew louder.  
All of a sudden he surged forwards, nearly knocking Wilbur back, and screamed with such terror in his voice that even Eret winced,  
“No, Technoblade!”

And suddenly his eyes were open, and they were glazed over, and he was fighting against Wilbur, hitting at his hands when he tried to calm him, and then he fell back and Tubbo pushed Wilbur aside.  
Wilbur swallowed, and stepped back to stand next to Eret. 

Tubbo was murmuring to Tommy, stroking his hair in an effort to calm him, but Tommy looked past him and Wilbur felt his younger brother’s gaze lock onto him.  
“Why are you here?” he asked, his voice weak and terrified, and then suddenly he leapt forwards, knocking Tubbo to the ground, and grabbed Wilbur by the collar of his shirt, pulling him down with unexpected strength.  
“You’re fucking dead!” he screamed, and Wilbur instinctively flinched back as Eret took hold of Tommy and pulled him back,  
“You’re dead, Wilbur!” Tommy screamed before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell back limp into Eret’s arms.

*

“Technoblade was our older brother.” Wilbur said quietly.  
“Was he... violent?” Eret asked uncomfortably.  
Wilbur shook his head. “God no, not towards us at least. Extremely overprotective, yes. I presume you’ve heard of him.”  
“I have.” Tubbo piped up. “Isn’t he one of the most powerful people in the Dream SMP?”  
Wilbur laughed quietly. “Yeah, but to us he was always our brother. We haven’t seen him in years. Nor Phil.”  
Wilbur fell silent.  
“It’s always been Tommy and me since we left home.”

***

When Tommy woke up, he was lying in a familiar bed, and a dead person, his best friend, and a traitor were sitting across the room from him.  
When he scrambled away, reaching for anything to defend himself, the traitor walked forwards and tried to calm him.

“Hey, hey. Tommy, it’s fine.” Eret soothed. Tommy grabbed the pocket knife out of his pocket and leapt from the bed, tackling him to the ground.  
“Why the fuck are you here, Eret?” he shouted, brandishing the knife. “Have you all just forgotten the final control room? Your allegiance to Dream?!”

Casting his eyes around the room, he then fixed them upon his brother. “And you!” he screamed. “You are dead! I don’t know how you’re here, but I know what you did to L’manburg!”

But Wilbur looked scared. Wilbur looked confused, Wilbur looked hurt, and why did Wilbur look hurt?

The world started to fade.

“Next time he wakes up, I’ll be the only one in the room.” he heard quietly as he slipped back into unconsciousness.

*

When he woke up, his best friend sat on the bed next to him. Tommy sat up and looked around frantically before grabbing Tubbo.  
“What’s going on Tubbo?! Why is the traitor here? How is Wilbur not dead, and how did they capture you?”  
There was a short pause before Tommy continued ranting.  
“I know I don’t remember much, but was it Technoblade who captured you? I assume so, since he set off the Withers, and...”

Tubbo laid a light hand on his shoulder. He looked up at his friend. “Tommy, are you feeling well?”

“O-of course I’m feeling well, now what’s our plan to escape?” Tommy stammered.  
“Tommy, there is nobody to escape from. Are you okay?” 

Tommy shook his head frantically. “No, Tubbo you idiot, do you not remember Eret and the final control room? The-the betrayal?”

Then he focused on something.   
“T-Tubbo, where’d you find your old L’manburg jacket? I thought all of them were burned when Schlatt..” 

“Tommy, I want you to explain to me exactly what has happened since we founded L’manburg.” Tubbo said uneasily. 

Tommy looked up at him, confused. “W-well, we fought for independence. Eret turned out to be working for Dream, but I bargained with Dream. We got our independence when I gave him my discs.”

Tubbo was silent. “What happened next?”

“We wanted to secure our... leadership. Of L’manburg.” Tommy murmured,  
“Our?”  
“Wilbur was president. And - we did something stupid.” Tommy swallowed. “We held an election, but we told nobody. A one-party election. People would have no choice but to vote for us.”   
He let his eyes slide up to his president. “Quackity found out. He told everyone. And Schlatt ran, along with him and Fundy.”

“You lost?” the words tumbled from Tubbo’s mouth like a waterfall.   
“Schlatt won.” Tommy said. 

“What happened after that?” Tubbo pressed.  
“He exiled me and Wilbur.” Tommy mumbled, shrinking in on himself. “We fled, and then..”

A flash of fear showed in his eyes. “Our older brother Technoblade. He joined us, and we got OP gear and shit.”  
Tubbo breathed out, “Did you take back L’manburg?”

“Barely.” Tommy scoffed. “Schlatt drank himself to death halfway through. And... then...”

His voice shrank to a squeak. “Wilbur... he, he. When we won, I... what happened was...” 

“Are you ready to tell me?” Tubbo asked quietly.   
“Can I tell you later?” the younger choked out.  
“Okay. Do you want me to bring Wilbur, Fundy and Eret in?”  
Tommy frantically shook his head. “Wilbur?” he stammered out. 

“Okay. Do you want me there?” 

After a pause, Tommy shook his head no. 

“I’ll go get him.”


	2. Chapter 2

part 2 time travel 

“He is extremely disoriented. I have a hunch of what’s going on, but... just don’t make any sudden movements, okay?” 

Wilbur nodded, suddenly silent. Tubbo put a hand on his shoulder. “Just think of bees, it’ll calm you down.”

He nodded again, swallowing.  
The door clicked open... and shut.

“Hey.”  
“Hey.” Tommy offered. Wilbur noticed with discomfort the hand on his knife. 

“So, what’s your deal?” Tommy asked wearily.   
“What?” Wilbur choked out.  
“Who are you? Why are you pretending to be my brother?” 

“I-I am your brother.” Wilbur whispered.  
“My brother is dead.” Tommy retorted. “Phil killed him. So I ask again; who are you?”

“Dad killed me?”

“Not you. Phil killed Wilbur, right after the bastard blew up L’manburg. So who are you, and why are you here?”

“I-I don’t know.”

Tommy was painfully aware of the horrified expression on his older brother’s face.   
“What, you want me to explain everything that happened since we founded L’manburg to you? Like Tubbo did?”

There was a pause.

“How did you even capture Tubbo?”

Wilbur flinched. “He’s not being held captive.” he mumbled.   
“Is he?” Tommy scoffed. “I know damn well how manipulative you can be. Tubbo might think he’s here by choice, but.”

“Manipulative?” Wilbur echoed.  
“Yeah, since you went insane. Since he went insane.” Tommy shook himself.   
Wilbur swallowed. “What did you say about explaining what happened since we founded L’manburg again?”

“Well, firstly we went to war with Dream for independence. It was a week or two in when we realised we were winning.” Tommy’s face was blank. “Eret betrayed us for Dream, and L’manburg was blown up for the first time.”

“Eret... betrayed us?” Wilbur murmured.

“Why the fuck do I even have to explain this to you?!” Tommy voiced, before his hand clenched around his knife and he continued.  
“I bargained with Dream. My discs for L’manburg.”   
Wilbur flinched. “But you’d never give up your discs!”  
“Well, I did!” Tommy spat. “L’manburg was given independence, and you became President. But,” he scoffed, “that wasn’t enough for us.”

“What do you mean?”

“It was Wilbur’s idea. A one-party election. To ensure our leadership.”

“It didn’t go in your favour.” Wilbur realised.

“Quackity found out, he told everyone. In total, us, him, Fundy and... Schlatt ran.” Tommy said bitterly. “Schlatt won, and Wilbur and me were immediately exiled.”

Wilbur looked terrified. “Exiled?”

“Yeah.” Tommy mumbled. “Technoblade joined us. Most of the family back together again.” he continued sarcastically.  
“He gave us gear and shit. That was around the time Wilbur went crazy. We went to war, and Schlatt-“

“Went crazy?” whispered Wilbur.   
“Yeah, of course.” Tommy snorted. “Went on a rant about fucking blowing up Manburg and shit.”  
Wilbur was silent. 

“Schlatt died of a heart attack, and we won. You passed the presidency onto me, and I passed it onto Tubbo.”  
There was a pause, where Tommy’s eyes grew darker. “You blew L’manburg up, and Technoblade betrayed us and spawned two Withers. I woke up here.”

Wilbur was silent. Tommy noticed that there were tears beading in his eyes.  
He stumbled back, and ran out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW:  
> -mild gore  
> -nausea   
> -arguments

“What did you say to him?” Tubbo asked for what seemed like the thousandth time.   
“I told him what Wilbur did.” Tommy replied absently, for the hundredth time.

They’d had this conversation so much over the past day.   
“Goddammit, Tommy!” Tubbo screamed. “What did Wilbur do, in your fucking stupid little mind fantasy?! How could’ve it made him-him-“

Tommy looked up. “Him what?”   
Tubbo was silent.  
“Tubbo, what did he do?” Tommy asked uneasily.   
Tubbo just raked a hand through his hair and sat down on a chair, drawing his legs up to his chest. 

Tommy went quiet for a few seconds.  
Tubbo shook himself. “Anyways, Eret has a weapon to show us. He thinks it’ll help against Dream. I have to go.”

Tommy was up from the bed in a flash, with his hand tight around Tubbo’s wrist. “You’re not fucking leaving.”  
“T-Tommy, what-“  
“I don’t know what the fuck is going on, Tubbo!” Tommy shouted. “But I’m not letting you go with-with him. Especially not to check out a new weapon - do you even remember what happened last time?!”  
“There was no last time, Tommy!” Tubbo screamed in Tommy’s face. “I don’t know what kind of delusion you have in your head, but if you haven’t noticed, we don’t fucking have independence! And Wilbur is alive, albeit barely!”

Tommy stopped short. “Barely?”   
Tubbo froze.   
“Tubbo, what happened to him?”  
“Why would you want to know? He’s not Wilbur, apparently.” Tubbo retorted.

Tommy lost it.  
“I DON’T FUCKING KNOW, TUBBO!” he screamed. “But you don’t seem to be held captive, and I’m just holding onto the idea that maybe Wilbur managed to survive being stabbed by Dad. Maybe he’s alive. So where the fuck is he, and how the fuck can I help?”

***

Wilbur stumbled out of the room, his head spinning.   
He blew up L’manburg.  
No, he didn’t.  
He blew up L’manburg.  
Tommy was clearly delusional and paranoid.  
His dad killed him?  
Tommy was ill.  
He needed to find Technoblade.

He staggered into the next room, where Tubbo immediately stood and greeted him.  
“Wilbur! How’d it go? Is he alright?”  
Wilbur couldn’t process what Tubbo was saying to him. Everything was blurred.  
“I need to get Technoblade.” he said faintly. He could vaguely see Tubbo’s shocked face.   
“Why, what happened?!” the younger boy asked, worried.  
Wilbur pushed past him and reached for the door of the caravan. “I need to... Technoblade.” he choked out, watching the world contort in front of him and grabbing onto the door handle to steady himself.

“Wilbur, stop!” Tubbo cried, putting his hand on the door handle on top of Wilbur’s in a weak attempt to stop him. “You look ill, you can’t leave!”

Wilbur turned around to look at the boy. “I have to find Techno!” he said, panicked.   
“Wilbur, you can’t-“  
“You can’t stop me!” Wilbur cried out, and he pushed the door open with brute force before yanking out his sword and running full speed. 

He ran past zombies, and skeletons and creepers, dodging them in his attempt to leave. This fared well for him until he reached the forest, and immediately tripped over a root and fell to the ground.  
The zombies were advancing, and he slashed at them with his sword despite his position.   
He could feel a slash in his leg, and an arrow flew into his shoulder. His mouth gaped in pain and his eyes rolled back into his head.


	4. Chapter 4

The masked man looked at the device in his hand and frowned.   
He had to get to them. Fast.

***

Wilbur could taste blood.   
He shot up in the bed, panic on his face. He could see a blurry figure sitting next to him. Two blurry figures sitting next to him. He blinked.  
Tubbo, and... Tommy?  
“Are you okay?” Tubbo asked. Tommy was silent.  
Wilbur opened his mouth, and then closed it.   
“Do you not feel like talking?” Tubbo queried worriedly.  
He looked down at the bed. Tubbo left the room.  
Tommy was staring at his hands.   
“Technoblade?” Wilbur asked.  
Tommy flinched. “Don’t.” he mumbled uneasily.   
Wilbur was silent.  
“Tubbo thinks I travelled back in time or some shit.” Tommy said flatly. Wilbur’s eyes shot up to his face, blown wide like saucepans.  
“I know.” he continued. “It’s hard not to believe him, though. Since.”  
There was a pause.  
“You’re alive.” 

Tommy laughed. “You’re alive, so why does everything feel so wrong?” he asked hysterically. “And I don’t want to go back, because god knows what happens to us when Techno summons those withers, or how Phil will deal with having to kill you - with you begging to be killed - or how Tubbo will deal with ever seeing fucking fireworks again.”

Tommy went quiet. Wilbur looked at him. “Technoblade,” he said again. 

“I know, Wilbur.” Tommy murmured. “I know.”

***

“How long?” the masked man asked impatiently. His companion let out a short chuckle.  
“L’manburg is far, but we will reach it soon.” he said, his voice familiar. 

Technoblade looked away from the more optimistic man. “I’m worried about them.” he said, his tone weighted. 

Phil swept the oars through the water once again. “By coming back, Techno, he has had a chance to live in our world. We both know your voices took over in his.”

Technoblade was silent. He removed the boar skull from his face, sitting it down in the boat next to him. “You didn’t have to say that.” 

Phil was quiet for a second. “I can’t let it happen in this world, Techno.”

There was a short silence. Techno hunched over in the back of the boat, dread forming in his mind.

blood for the blood god  
blood for the blood god  
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD

***

Tommy shoved his fingers into his ears, failing to block out the voices that invaded his head.  
“Tommy?” a voice sounded. 

He spun round, his face hard. “Eret.”  
Eret looked at him, their face unreadable. 

“Why would you do that?” Tommy asked quietly.  
“Do what?” Eret asked.  
“I know what you’re planning.” Tommy said bluntly.

Eret’s eyes jerked up to him. 

“Please don’t.” Tommy said hoarsely. “It’s not worth it. Dream will dethrone you. He’ll make George king.”

Eret took a step back. “How do you know this?” he mumbled. She pressed his sunglasses back up his nose, as if frightened they would fall.

“Eret, you have to promise you won’t lead us to the final control room. Dream will screw you over in the future. You don’t have to do this.”

“Give me - give me one bit of proof that this is real. That Tubbo is right. That you are from the future, that you’re not just psychic or something.” Eret said, their face creased. 

Tommy looked at the man in front of him. Their faces were level. “It was never meant to be.” he said quietly, and he forced back the tears in his eyes. 

Eret looked at him, horrified, before his facial expression set to something serious. He put a hand on Tommy’s shoulder.  
“This time, I’ll make it meant to be.”


End file.
